Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - Justin Bieber interview

JUSTIN Bieber talks about his new film Never Say Never as well as his career to date, including why he is eternally grateful to his fans and to Internet sites like Twitter and YouTube.

He also discusses concerns surrounding his voice, becoming an adult and coping with the pressures of success… as well as his feelings on love and injecting it into his songs. He was speaking at a press conference held in London.

Q. Did you have a good time at the Brits?Justin Bieber: I did! I did! I met a lot of cool people and I got a kiss from Cheryl Cole, so that was really cool.

Q. When did the idea first come to you to make this documentary?Justin Bieber: Well, I didn’t really know what was going on. It was kind of his [Scooter Braun]’s master-plan and then I was like: “Yeah, I’d really like to do that.” And then all of a sudden this guy [director Jon Chu] shows up with a camera and he just starts filming me. I’m like: “Who’s this random guy filming me?” And he was like: “Oh, we’re making a movie.” And I was like: “Oh cool.” And then…

Q. What do you think about everyone seeing all of that footage – the baby photos, etc?Justin Bieber: I’m OK with it.

Q. How do you feel about making the transition to adulthood and avoiding going off the rails, which sometimes happens to other young child stars? And do you worry about your voice changing?Justin Bieber: What do you mean? I mean like everybody’s voice changes so it’s not like its abnormal. There’s a lot of singers that have gone through the vocal change, like Usher, Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men. So, it hasn’t been a worry for me. If you’ve seen my movie you’ve seen that my voice has continued to drop and it’s going to get deeper and deeper, so I’m not really worried.

Q. And what about making the transition to adulthood?Justin Bieber: Um, well I have such great people on my team to just guide me in the right direction. My mum travels with me. They keep me humble and sane.

Q. And people like Usher, who have been there?Justin Bieber: For sure.

Q. The concert footage in the film is amazing. But what was your initial reaction to seeing yourself in this movie in 3D for the first time?Justin Bieber: It’s not really a concert movie but it kind of shows my story. It was kind of cool to see myself so big but at the same time I was a little… what’s the word? It made me feel self-conscious because your face is so big that you can see everything.

Q. Did you have to make any changes to your dance routines to record the film in 3D?Justin Bieber: No [pauses and laughs]. We added dancers but we didn’t really change anything.

Q. What’s the strangest thing a fan has asked you or done? And what’s the strangest thing they’ve asked you to sign?Justin Bieber: I’ve signed a cereal box before. And then the weirdest thing a fan has done… I’ve had girls get tattoos of my name and I had a mum get a tattoo on her back. So, what happened was the radio station had a contest – if they got that guy from the radio station’s face tattooed on their back they got to come to my concert and meet me. It was really weird.

Q. Do you think you’d be where you are today if it wasn’t for YouTube and Twitter?Justin Bieber: It’s crazy… without the Internet I would never be in this place… without YouTube and stuff. But also I wouldn’t be here without any of my fans who supported me. My fans and I have that special connection because whenever we talk on Twitter and Facebook we really have that one on one connection and I feel that’s important.

Q. I’m a bit worried because Bieber fever has gone right around the world…Justin Bieber: Why are you worried about it [laughs]?

Q. What is the cure for Bieber fever? I mean, now that this film is coming out even more young girls are going to become addicted to you. Does that worry you?Justin Bieber: Why would I worry about getting more fans?

Q. But aren’t some of them crazy?Justin Bieber: Yeah but they’re the ones that support me and they’re the ones that help me to be here so… btw there is no cure for Bieber fever!

Q. How long does it take you to do your hair?Justin Bieber: Five minutes. I just woke up from bed and did this.

Q. There are a lot of Bieber fans attending the film’s premiere. Do you have a special message for your London fans? And what do you hope they’ll get out of the movie?Justin Bieber: A special message to my London fans is thank you for everything… for camping out and being so supportive, for buying tickets to my movie and just for being so cool. And what I hope they get out of the movie is that whether you want to be a doctor, or an actor, or a singer, or a police officer… any goal you have, you just have to set it and never give up and always make sure that you always just follow your dreams.

Q. I have my little sister on the phone last night and asked her what she wanted to ask you and she said the best question she could think of was, who is your biggest role model?Justin Bieber: Who is my biggest role model? Does it have to be in this day and age? OK, Job. Seriously! Do you want to know why? Job from the Bible… So, he got tortured, he got his family killed, everything was taken away from him – his job, his cattle, everything – and he still remained faithful to God and still trusted God after everything was taken away. He didn’t know why it happened but he still put his faith in God and the notion that everything happens for a reason. So, that’s why. Read the Book of Job.

Q. In the film you’re seen with people around you almost all of the time. So, when was the last time you felt lonely or alone?Justin Bieber: Um, I guess I’m fine with being by myself. I’m kind of an independent person so I don’t mind being alone.

Q. Do you get time to yourself?Justin Bieber: Not a lot of time to myself. I work a lot. But at night-time… that’s usually my down-time where I get just to lay in bed and I can check Twitter and all of that.

Q. Do you ever get the opportunity to feel anonymous in any of the places that you go now?Justin Bieber: Not really [laughs].

Q. The reviews for the film have been amazing. Do you hope the film will convert people who may have been negative about you in the past?Justin Bieber: I hope people go to the movie whether they’re a fan or not just to see the experience that I went through. Whether you’re a fan of me or not a fan of me. There are some people who are not going to like my music because it’s not their style of music… they might like rock or different genres. But if you see the movie I think it’s just inspiring for everybody. Also, I was on the Internet last night and I saw this video of these guys [reviewing the film] and I thought: “OK, these guys are going to hit on me, saying that I have ugly hair and I look like a girl and my voice hasn’t dropped and all this stuff.” So, I went to the video and it started: “OK, I’m not going to lie, I hated Justin Bieber and now after watching this movie it got me to really respect him.” That was really good to hear. It was cool.

Q. We heard you were out very late last night, so what were you up to?Justin Bieber: I wasn’t out late last night. I got in early. I got in right after the premiere.

Q. Scooter said you were up until 8am…Justin Bieber: I was but I was in my room and I was just lying there because I couldn’t sleep. At all!

Q. What were you thinking about?Justin Bieber: I wasn’t thinking about anything, I was trying to sleep. I was thinking about zzzzs. I put on some soft music and that still didn’t work, so then I was just laying there and trying to sleep. The time difference… because I was in LA. It’s eight hours or six hours. It was jet-lag. I was home early but couldn’t sleep.

Q. You mentioned meeting Cheryl Cole last night at the Brits, so what did you talk about?Justin Bieber: We didn’t really chat, I just gave her a kiss. We got right to business [laughs].

Q. How did you feel about people always looking for any details at all about your private life? And do you worry, or are you prepared, that one day all this could end?Justin Bieber: No, music is my passion so I feel like I’ll be doing this for a long time and God forbid if anything happens I’ll still write music. So, I could write music for other people. I see myself making music for a very long time.

Q. You’re nearly 17 and your songs are all about love, loss of love, yearning and unrequited love. So where does that come from in a 16-year-old?Justin Bieber: OK, so some people say: “He’s 16, what does he know about love?” Have you ever had a dog? Did you love him? OK, did you have a dog when you were a kid?

Q. No…Justin Bieber: OK, well this won’t make sense [laughs]. As a kid, you love your parents and then you get, like, 11 or 12 and you start seeing girls and you’re, like: “I like them. I want to see that person because she’s cute.” But you don’t really know the real meaning of love. But you think you do. And then you get a little older, you’re 14 and you’re in high school, and you still think you love a girl. But you don’t really know. You’re still young, so you don’t really know exactly what it means. So, you turn 15 or 16 and you have a little bit more knowledge on what it means because you’ve maybe had one or two girlfriends. I don’t know… I think love is like a learning process throughout your life. You learn how to be better at it and you learn more about it. I’m still learning. I’m not saying I know everything about love. I’m still trying to figure out girls… I don’t think we’ll ever totally figure out girls. You’re supposed to laugh at that.